Best Travel Guide To Lake Manyara National Park Wildlife, Tree Climbing Lions In Tanzania

Best Travel Guide To Lake Manyara National Park Wildlife, Tree Climbing Lions In  Tanzania 

Lake Manyara National Park is a small park at the base of the Rift Valley escarpment. Its groundwater forest offers a nice change of scenery from the more savannah-dominated parks. Although the park is known for tree-climbing lions, big cats aren't that easily seen. Elephants are prolific and are the main attraction.

Lake Manyara National Park is famous for tree-climbing lions seen up on the acacia and sausage trees in the park. Lake Manyara National Park is also famous for the large flocks of pink flamingos that fill the alkaline lake

Lake Manyara National Park Location and Size:

Lake Manyara National Park is located in Arusha, Tanzania, and situated between Lake Manyara and the Great Rift Valley. The park covers an area of 325 km² (125 sq. mi) including about 230 km² (89 sq. mi) which is lake surface.

About Lake Manyara National Park:

Lake Manyara is a shallow alkaline lake formed in a depression in the Rift Valley System. The Lake has no outflow but is fed by underground springs and by several permanent streams that drain surrounding Ngorongoro Highlands.

The park has rivers flowing off the escarpments and perennial springs below the rift wall which support evergreen forests, woodlands, swamps, and grasslands all of which act as a habitat for the several wildlife species within the area.

Surrounding the lake are extensive marshlands, and saline flats that expand in the dry season as the surface area of the lake shrinks and grassy floodplains, forests, sustained by groundwater, dominated by evergreen fig and mahogany trees.

Rocky escarpments of the rift valley, which rises steeply and Large African baobab trees also characterize the park.

Lake Manyara National Park Scenery:

Lake Manyara is a shallow, alkaline lake at the base of the Western Rift Valley escarpment. The Park has a remarkable variety of habitats in a small area. The Park entrance leads to a beautiful groundwater forest. Other habitats include the grassy floodplain, rocky escarpment, and acacia woodland, all of which can be covered in a half-day visit. Deeper into the park a visit to the hot springs (Majo Moto) is recommended.

Lake Manyara National Park Wildlife:

Lake Manyara National Park Animals:

This Park is known for its large elephant population. The big cats are present, but not seen that easily. The forest patch is home to habituated troops of olive baboons and blue monkeys. Buffalo, giraffe, and several antelope species are easily encountered on a drive.

The park is known for its legendary tree-climbing lions and impressively tusked elephants.

Large buffalo, wildebeest, and zebra herds congregate on the grassy plains. The forest patch at the entrance of the park is home to habituated troops of olive baboons and blue monkeys.

The occasional bushbuck can also be spotted here, darting off in the undergrowth. Pairs of klipspringer are sometimes seen balancing on the rocks at the far south of the park and the hippo pool is a good place to see these semi-aquatic creatures up close.

Other notable animal species within the Park include migratory mammals like wildebeests, zebras, Thomson's gazelles, and Grant's gazelles. Others include waterbucks, impalas, giraffes, warthogs, Leopards, African wild cats, honey badgers, African civets, hyenas, black-backed jackals, bat-eared foxes, cheetahs, African golden cats, mongoose, and others all good to watch by tourists.

Lake Manyara National Park Birding:

Lake Manyara National Park has over 350 different bird species including large flocks of flamingos that feed along Lake Manyara. Other birds include great white pelicans, pink-backed pelicans, marabou storks, grey herons, palm-nut vultures, ayre’s hawk eagles, and others, which are all good for viewing by any visitor.

Best time to visit Lake Manyara National Park:

Although Lake Manyara National Park offers reasonable wildlife viewing throughout the year, the Dry season, from June to October, is the best time. Wildlife is easier to spot because vegetation is thinner and animals gather around predictable water sources. The Wet season, from November to May, offers the most beautiful scenery, but roads can sometimes become slippery and difficult to negotiate.

Lake Manyara National Park Weather and climate:

The climate never overheats at Lake Manyara, where average daytime temperatures peak at around 29°C/84°F in the Wet season (November to May). The pattern in this period is a month or two of 'short rains', then a dry spell, then a longer stretch of rain. It's slightly cooler in the Dry season (June to October). The temperature plummets at night, however. Freezing conditions are rare, but they can happen.

How do you get to Lake Manyara National Park?

The best way to get to Lake Manyara National Park is by flying into the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA). From Arusha, this airport is located about 46 km. Using a domestic flight, it is also possible to fly to Arusha Airport (ARK) while flying from the Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) in Dar es Salaam.

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